The Phillies are no longer the team to beat in the NL East after
capturing five straight division titles, two pennants and one World
Series title between 2007-11. Injuries to star players and overall
inconsistency contributed to an 81-81 finish last year.

With a core of aging players, some of which are entering the
final seasons of their contracts, it's natural to wonder if the
team's window of winning another world championship is closing.

''You don't want to see it but, you understand the game of
baseball is a very small window and you have to do very well for
that period of time you have,'' said Hamels, one of the voices of
reason on a veteran roster. ''Even though you don't want to hear
it, it's more or less the knowledge you have to give it everything
you can while you can because it's going to be taken away very fast
and you don't want to regret anything.

''I think that's the idea behind what we have to do. We have to
perfect everything we can. We have to play as hard as we possibly
can because it's going to disappear fast and I don't want it to
disappear.''

Hamels is one of the guys who doesn't have to worry about his
future. The three-time All-Star lefty and 2008 NLCS and World
Series MVP signed a $144 million, six-year contract last July.

''That's why I signed here,'' he said. ''I really do firmly
believe we have a great team and we can win the World Series and
the organization wants to see it and the fans want to see it and
that's the ingredients you need to succeed and we have to push the
limits.''

Howard, the 33-year-old first baseman, also isn't going
anywhere. He's owed at least $105 million over the next five years
and is coming off a season that started in mid-July after a long
recovery from a torn Achilles' tendon. Howard has shown he's
healthy this spring and he views it differently than Hamels.

''I don't buy into the old thing,'' Howard said. ''It's all
about how young you feel inside and how well you take care of
yourself. Everybody in this clubhouse goes out and works their butt
off. Everybody goes out in the offseason, they train and we do what
we need to do to come back. If people want to call us old, that's
fine, but I think going out there this year we're going to show
people that we're not old.''

Halladay, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, appears on the
decline after being a dominant pitcher for almost a decade. The
35-year-old righty is coming off an injury-plagued season and has
struggled so far this spring. He's in the final season of his
contract and wants to finish his career in Philadelphia, if they'll
have him back. He's desperate to win his first World Series
ring.

''I think there's always urgency,'' he said. ''I don't think
anybody goes into a season and says `Maybe we should win this three
years from now.' You want to win it now. I think you have to have
that mentality, regardless of your age. Obviously the opportunities
become less and less the older you get, but I think the urgency is
always the same. You want to win that year, and that's what counts
and what matters.

Five-time All-Star second baseman Chase Utley, All-Star catcher
Carlos Ruiz and Manuel are also going into their last years of
their contract. Manuel has no plans to retire and wants to keep
managing. But with Ryne Sandberg, the assumed heir apparent, on
staff, he probably has to win to stick around.

''I think we want to win,'' he said. ''It's important for them
to show they can win and convince themselves how good they are.
People put expectations on us and that's fine but I like it better
when players put (high) expectations on themselves. That's even
better and we play better baseball day in and day out.''

Amaro looks at it pragmatically, like any general manager
would.

''My job is to make us a contender every single day and every
year and that doesn't end so I don't necessarily believe in
windows,'' Amaro said. ''Our job is to try and be a contender every
year. We can talk about all the windows we want, but the fact of
the matter is we're built to try and win every single year. There
may be some times and some eras when we need to do some rebuilding
or retooling more than anything else such that we put ourselves in
position where we have to do it with different players. We have
some very good young players coming up that might be able to help
with any transitions that we're talking about, but our goal is to
be a contender every year.''

That's easy to say. Harder to do.

---

NOTES: While the Phillies faced Atlanta in Grapefruit League
action, Cliff Lee tossed six scoreless innings, striking out nine
and allowing four hits in a minor-league game against Pittsburgh.
... Jimmy Rollins was 0 for 1 with a walk in that game. ... RHP
Rodrigo Lopez, competing for a roster spot as a long reliever, got
roughed up by the Braves. He gave up eight runs and eight hits in
two innings.

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